This week on NVTC’s blog, Alex Castelli of NVTC member CohnReznick shares how the SEC’s adoption of new crowdfunding rules could be a game changer for growth-focused businesses and investors.

The SEC’s adoption of new crowdfunding rules could be a game changer for growth-focused businesses and investors

On Oct. 30, 2015, the SEC approved final rules that permit companies to offer and sell securities through crowdfunding. The new rules provide another capital raising option for growth-oriented companies and offer additional options for investors who want to get in on the ground floor of in what could be a very successful business.

Benefits to Companies and Investors

Some of the key benefits of the SEC’s rules permitting crowdfunding or, simply put, the ability of companies to raise capital from the general public through the Internet are listed below.

Early-stage and growth companies that may be unable or unwilling to raise capital from institutional or private investors have access to another source of capital.

By offering and selling equity in their company through the Internet, companies gain a wider and more efficient distribution of the offering to a larger audience when compared to traditional sources.

Using the Internet to offer and sell securities should decrease the cost of capital

Non-accredited individual investors, previously excluded from equity crowdfunding investments, are now invited to become investors with certain limitations.

Investors have a level of protection since companies raising capital through crowdfunding will be required to utilize funding portals or registered broker dealers and will have certain disclosure requirements to investors. Additionally, funding portals that wish to participate in the crowdfunding process as an intermediary will be required to register with the SEC and become a member of FINRA.

Launching Your Crowdfunding Campaign

Even if you are a tremendously successful owner or executive, a successful crowdfunding effort will require expert marketing surrounding your efforts to raise funds. You and the members of your management team will assume the responsibility of formulating a marketing campaign to create interest in your offering. You’ll need a good story to tell investors complete with business plans, financial statements and projections.

In the crowd, you’ll be competing for investment dollars with other companies so you need to engage in strategies to elevate your offering over all others. Earning the trust and confidence of investors can lead to a successful offering. Consider activities that could strengthen your relationships with clients, customers, and even vendors. These relationships may help to support a successful crowdfunding campaign and could represent your future investors.

To launch your crowdfunding campaign, you’ll be using the services of an SEC registered broker/dealer or SEC registered crowdfunding platform or funding portal. Each will probably offer different services and fee structures. Once your customers, clients, and vendors have invested in your business, you may want to reach out to a broader base of potential investors. Getting your offer in front of the right investors will be critical to achieving your capital raising goals.

As a private company, you may not be accustomed to sharing operational and financial information publically. A successful crowdfunding campaign may require additional transparency if you are to build trust and confidence in prospective investors. If you are not comfortable sharing company information with the world, you may want to explore a more proprietary method of raising capital.

Once you have executed a successful crowdfunding campaign, you will need to have a plan on how you will continue to communicate to your new investors. How much information are you willing to share? Which rights to information will investors have? Consider creating an investor-only section on your company’s website where you can post periodic information about your company’s progress, financial results, etc. Transparency is the key if you want to keep your investors informed and hungry to make additional investment in the future.

Organizations are increasingly deploying virtual collaboration tools, but are they doing it effectively? To gain the most from these investments, it’s essential to look beyond cost cutting and develop strategies that maximize virtual collaboration’s many benefits.

Efficiency

As people across the organization gain instant access to each other, regardless of geography or job title, collaborating virtually reduces the amount of time and effort needed to perform tasks and answer questions. Research shows that when Alcoa made compliance oversight virtual, it reduced time spent on that function by 61 percent.

In another example, a Ford executive developing a new social media tool used an internal collaborative platform to seek input. His request reached the entire company, and an ambitious employee at a remote site developed a solution over the weekend. No time or money was wasted with procurement, contracting, or longer-paced development.

Accelerated Learning

Virtual collaboration reduces barriers to learning, allowing organizations to become self-teaching. Often, organizational learning is top down. Virtual collaboration facilitates a democratization of learning as employees share knowledge and information across silos. At Ford, employees on the production line use virtual collaboration to share processes and best practices, allowing employees at other plants to learn new skills on the spot without having to travel.

Productivity

Research reveals connected employees are engaged employees. Collaborating virtually facilitates relationship building by overcoming geographic and organizational boundaries, ultimately driving engagement and productivity. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) engages more than 500 senior executives across the country on agency-wide initiatives through virtual executive summits. Leaders connect, pose questions, share ideas, and interact with senior leadership, saving the agency $750,000 in travel costs.

Reduced Costs

Probably the best understood benefit of working virtually is cost reduction. Well-executed virtual collaboration correlates with reduced travel and facilities costs, as noted in the NASA example above. Research shows organizations lower costs by an average of 15 to 20 percent as collaboration matures.

But it’s not only organizations that benefit, employees save money too. Commuting costs, lunch expenses, clothing, and cleaning expenditures all lower for employees working in virtual environments. There’s also a reduction in social costs—the chance of accident and illness are lower. Employee health improves, stress levels drop, and the workforce is happier.

Many organizations use virtual collaboration simply to cut costs. Before choosing specific virtual solutions, it is wise to explore not only how virtual collaboration will help you slim down your budget, but also how working virtually increases your organization’s efficiency, learning, and productivity.

Marlise Streitmatter works in the Organizational and Human Capital Solutions Group at LMI. Previously, Streitmatter was the deputy chief of staff at the U.S Department of Transportation. She has a bachelors in international policy and administration from the University of Illinois Springfield.